Fear Not: You’re Fighting From Victory

Joshua 11:6 NKJVBut the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel….”

In Joshua 11, the Children of Israel find themselves in a very dire situation. All the kings of the nations around them have joined together to come against them. The kings of Hazor, Madon, Shimron, Achshaph, all the kings of the kingdoms from the mountains to the north, the kings of the nations from the southern plains, the lowlands to the east, the highlands of the west, plus the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Hivites all joined their armies into one massive assault team to attack and destroy the Israelites. Over 20 kingdoms or rulers sent their best trained military men, over 300,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, and 20,000 iron clad chariots with sharp spikes and hooks that plowed down and decimated their foes.

Israel sees their foes mounted up against them as sand on the seashore (Judges 11:4) and fear began to take hold. Then God spoke to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, by this time tomorrow I will hand them all over to you.” Acting on the Lords word, Joshua led the Israelites against this massive army, attacking them by surprise and, “The Lord gave the Israelites VICTORY over them… (Joshua 11:8).”

Thematically, we’ve discussed this idea a handful of times as we walk through the Scripture looking at many of the references to fear. But this is a vital principle to walking free from fear and I want to address it again in a slightly different light. Joshua 11:8 says, “The Lord gave the Israelites VICTORY…” When did God give them the victory? God gave them the victory before they ever went to battle. In Joshua 11:6, God told Joshua not to fear because He (The Lord God) would hand the enemy over to him. The Israelites went to battle alright, but they went to battle from the VICTORY side.

God does not need you to defeat the enemy, Jesus has already done it and given you the victory (Colossians 2:15, Romans 8:37). In the atoning work of Christ, He has already dealt with every circumstance that could cause one to fear. Regardless if your fear is physical, financial, real or imagined, Jesus has dealt with it, defeated it, and given you the victory. There may be a battle along the way, but you are not fighting for victory. You are fighting from victory.

Just like God gave Joshua and the Israelites victory, He has given you victory over fear. Only you don’t have to go to battle. Simply obey His word, do what He’s asked you to do. Stand firm on His promises and He will see you through. Don’t allow fear to push you back off of the freedoms Christ’s redemptive work has obtained. Stand your ground based on His Word and you are fighting from His victory. Fear Not, your fighting from VICTORY ground.